Railroad crossing gate



Au 11, 1931. w. M. SMITH R ILROAD CROSSING GATE Filed 0ct. 17. 1923 2 Sheets-:Shest 1 Aug. 11, 1931. w. M. SMITH RAILROAD CROSSING GATE Filed Oct. 1'7, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 11, 1931 UNIED STATES PATENT caries WILLIAM M. SMITH, OF I-IARTLANID', WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHRIS- TOPHER H. OMAN, OF NORTH LAKE, WISCONSIN RAILROAD CROSSING GATE Application filed October 17, 1929. Serial No. 400,389.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in railroad crossing gates. One of the objects of my invention 1s the provision of a crossing gate adapted to be 5 electrically controlled and operated through the medium of a moving train about to cross the roadway upon the tracks so that the gate may be automatically lowered before the train reaches a roadway crossing.

10 Another object of my invention is the provision of an electrically operated crossing gate whereby a moving train closes a circuit to a motor for lowering the railway gates and as soon as the gate has been moved 15 to a closed position, it is maintained in this position until the train has passed the contact blocks for the closing of, the circuit and as the gate reaches its lowermost position,'a circuit is completed for operating the 2 motor to raise the gate, and the gate is maintained in a lowered position by means of an auxiliary circuit which is not closed until the train has passed the contact blocks on the track at which time the motor will be operated for raising the gate.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a railway crossing gate electrically operated wherein the operating parts thereof are of a very simple nature 30 and so constructed and arranged as to readily lower the gate when a train reaches a crossing and which will immediately raise the gate after the train has left the vicinity of the-crossing.

A'still further object of the invention is the provision of an electrically operated railway crossing gate wherein, when the gate is being moved to an open position and a second train reaches the railway crossing, it will not interfere with the upward movement of the gate but will permit the same to-continue upwardly to an open position before being'operated to return to its lower- 45 most position by the second train.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel features of construction, the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in the claims and accompanying Figure 4 is a detail section on the line 44 of Figure 2;

Figure 5' is a detail section on the line 55 of Figure 4; and,

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view of the complete circuit.

In Figure 1, I have illustrated the application of my invention wherein the highway 1 crosses the railroad track which includes the rail members 2 and 8. At one side of the highway parallel with the rails is an upright housing 4 in which is mounted a transverse shaft 5 with the spaced arms 6 of a guard arm 7 mounted on the ends of this shaft and movable therewith.

Mounted on the shaft 5 within the housing 4: is the main gear 8 which meshes with a pinion 9 on a second shaft 10 parallel with the shaft 5 and disposed directly above the motor 11. The motor 11 is supported upon a horizontal partition 12 and the drive shaft of the motor carries a worm 13 meshing with the gear 14 on shaft 10 whereby when the motor 11 is energized, shaft 10 will be rotated to impart similar movement to gear 8 and shaft 5.

Normally, the gate arm 7 is in a raised position, as shown in Figure 2, and the rails 2 and 8 are each provided upon opposite sides of the highway with contact rails which are arranged between the insulating points 15 and 15 so that when the contact rails are engaged by a moving train, a circuit is closed to a solenoid 16. This solenoid 16 actuates a pivoted arm 17 for moving the switch arm 18 away from contacts 19 and 19 and moves switch arm 20 into engagement with contacts 21 and 21. This movement of the solenoid closes a circuit to switch 22 which is normally in a closed or drawings the motor 11 so that when the circuit is completed by a train engaging the contact rails, the motor is operated in one direction for lowering arm 7. hen the wheels of a moving train engage the contact rails between points 15 and 15, the circuit is closed to the switch and the current travels from one of the contact rails through conductor 40, contact 21, conductor 48 to the switch 22 and thence to the motor 11 and returns through the conductor 43, contact 21, conductor 37, battery 38 and conductor 39 to the other contact rail.

Connected to the contacts 19 and 19 are the switch members 23 and 24, normally maintained in an open position before a train engages the contact rails. However, as the circuit to the solenoid has been closet and closes a circuit to switch 22 to the motor 11, the motor is operated to lower the gate as stated heretofore. During the lowering movement of the gate, the gear 8 is rotated, and eccentrically connected to the gear 8 is a pitman 25. The other end of: this pitman is connected to the cross bar 26 which connects the sliding sleeves 27 and 27. These sleeves 27 and 27' are mounted upon guide rods 28 and during the time the gate is being lowered, the sleeves 27 and 27 are moved away from the gear 8.

Mounted on sleeve 27 and arranged in spaced relation are the collars 29 which carry contact lugs 30 for engaging the switch arm 31 of switch 22.

Mounted upon the sleeve 2 are the two sets of spaced collars 32 and 33, each set of collars carrying a lug which is adapted to engage the switch arms 2c and 24 of switches 23 and 24.

In the position shown in Figure 2, the switch 22 is closed, while switches 23 and 24 are opened, as illustrated in Figure 6. However, during the downward movement of the gate arm 7, the slee es 27 and 27' are moved on the guide rods 28 so that the contact lugs which are normally farthes from the switch arms will move forwardly and engage the several switch arms 31, 23' and 24, so that when the gate arm has reached its lowermost position, switch 22 will be moved to an open position and switches 23 and 24 will be closed.

However, even though the switch 23 is closed to the motor for reverse operation, this switch does not carry any current th ere through due to the fact that the switch arm 18 is still out of contact with points 19 and 19' until after the train has passed over contact rails at the opposite side of the highway at which time the circuit to the solenoid- 16 is broken and switch arm 18 will move the contacts thereon into engagement with contacts 19 and 19' under the influence of the spring illustrated. in Figure 6, thus closing the circuit to switches 23 and 24, the

switch 23 operating the motor 11 in its reversed movement so as to raise the gate arm 7. When switches 23 and 24 are closed, the current passes from the battery 38, through the conductors 37 and 34 to switch 24, thence through conductor 44 through contact 19 and thence to the motor. The current also passes from the solenoid 35 to contact 19 through conductor 46 to switch 23 and thence to the motor through conductor 44. The motor is connected in circuit with the battery through the medium of conductor 42.

In order to permit the gate arm to complete its upward movement, I have arranged within the conductor 34 which leads from contact 19 to switch 24, a solenoid 35, which is energized when switch 24 is closed. This energizing of soienoit 35 opens a switch 36 in c nductor 37 which extends between the battery 38 and the solenoid 16 so that the circuit to the solenoid 16 is broken until the gate arm 7 has reached its uppermost position.

During the time the arm 7 is moving to uppermor-it position, the contact lugs carried by the collars 29, 32 and 33 are moving toward the switch lever from the right to the left in Figure 2, and as soon as the gate arm has reached its uppermost position, the switch lever 31 will be moved to a closed position closing switch 22 through the motor and will again open switches 23 and 24.

Therefore, as soon as switch 24 is opened, the solenoid 35 is deenergized allowing the switch 36 to move to its closed position in the conductor line 37 which leads to solenoid 16, thus again completing the circuit between the rails and solenoid 16 so that the circuit is again in position to be operated upon by a train engaging with either the contact rails.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that should a train approach a crossing during the time the gate arm is moving to its open or upward position, the solenoid 16 n will not be actuated due to the fact that the switch 36 is opened by the solenoid 35. However, as soon as the gate arm has reached its uppermost position and has opened switches 23 and 24, the circuit to the solenoid 35 will be broken to allow switch 36 to close so that the circuit completed by the second train through the contact rails will again close the circuit to switch 22, returning the gate arm to its closed or lowered position.

r he main idea of having the switch 24 cooperating with the switch 23 is to prevent the circuit to the motor being broken during the time the gate arm 7 is moving to an upward position so as to allow this gate arm to complete its opening movement, whereby to move the sleeves 27 and 27 back to their normal position, as shown in Figure 2 whereby switch 22 will be closed to the motor 11.

In connecting up the rails 2 and 3 to the solenoid 16 and the battery 38, it will be noted that a conductor 39 connects with rail 3 and the battery, while the conductor 40 connects the other rail with solenoid 16, and solenoid 16 is connected to the battery through conductor 37. The conductor 41 between the motor and the battery and the conductor 42 which leads through the battery to rail 3 is broken by means of a hand switch 43 whereby the entire circuit to the motor will be cut off if desired.

Contacts 19 and 19 are connected to switch 24 by means of the conductors 44 and 45, while contact point 19 is connected up with switch 23 by means of a conductor 46' and switch 23 is connected to the motor 11 by means of a conductor 17, the motor being connected up again by conductor 48, to contact point 21 and thence through contact point 21 to switch 22 by a conductor 49.

I claim:

1. In a railway crossing gate, a supporting shaft, an arm carried thereby, a gear carried by the shaft, an electric motor having operative connection with the gear, a rod having one end eccentrically connected to the gear, a reciprocating yoke including spaced members connected to the other end of the rod, spaced fingers carried by the spaced members of the yoke, and control switches located adjacent the yoke whereby the spaced fingers will engage the switch arms during the movement of the yoke for controlling the movement of the motor.

2. In a device of the character described, a supporting shaft, a closure member carried thereby, a rotative member carried by the shaft, an electric motor having operative connection with the rotative member, a rod having eccentric connection with the shaft at one end, a reciprocating yoke connected to the other end of the rod, spaced fingers carried by the arms of the yoke, and control switches located adjacent the yoke whereby the spaced fingers will engage the switch arms during the movement of the yoke for controlling the movement of the motor.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee, in the coimty of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin.

WILLIAM M. SMITH. 

